Cipher Mining (CIFR) surged 19% on Monday after signing a $5.5 billion lease with Amazon Web Services (AWS), pushing deeper into the red-hot artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure.
The 15-year deal will see Cipher deliver 300 megawatts (MW) of power capacity to AWS by the end of 2026, with the first phase starting in July, according to the company’s press release. The facilities will include both air- and liquid-cooled racks, key features for the kind of high-performance computing (HPC) AI models require.
Cipher also announced that it has taken majority control of a new joint venture to build a 1 gigawatt site in West Texas. The facility, called “Colchis,” sits on 620 acres near an American Electric Power substation and has secured a Direct Connect agreement with AEP. Construction is targeted for completion in 2028, the firm said.
These moves underscore a deeper shift in the role of cryptomining companies, which are increasingly being tapped to provide the power and infrastructure needed by big tech companies with lofty AI ambitions. Bitcoin miners already manage large energy contracts and computing infrastructure, which are now in high demand from hyperscalers like AWS and Google.
IREN (IREN), another bitcoin miner transitioning to AI computing, announced a $9.7 billion cloud computing deal with Microsoft on Monday, sending its stock up more than 20%.
Cipher earnings
Cipher on Monday reported $72 million in third-quarter revenue and adjusted earnings of $41 million. The AWS lease and a previously announced $3 billion deal with Fluidstack and Google bring its total AI hosting contracts to about $8.5 billion.
The firm said its pipeline now includes 3.2 gigawatts (GW) of site capacity.
“As the industry rapidly evolves and validates our thesis that Tier 1 hyperscalers would turn to Cipher and to non-traditional areas in Texas, we are more confident than ever that Cipher is among the best-positioned companies in the world to seize additional opportunities created by the growing power shortage,” CEO Tyler Page said in a statement.
